Modular Signage Panels with Stretch-Fit Frames
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing display sign systems with multiple panels are cumbersome to update and require adhesives for panel attachment, limiting flexibility and increasing costs due to the complexity of changing individual elements without altering the entire sign.
Innovation Solution
A system of multiple printable panel sheets held by frames that stretch, hold, and release without adhesives, with quick mounting and release capabilities, and design software that divides the display into panels with borders for easy attachment, allowing for efficient creation and updating of combined images on walls or support structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple panels are used to form a display sign, then flexibility and ease of updating individual elements improve, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The display sign is divided into multiple independent panels that can be individually updated. Each panel contains a subset of the overall image, allowing selective replacement of only the panels that need updating rather than replacing the entire sign structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure is designed to be universal and reusable across multiple panels. The same frame design can hold different panel configurations, and the modular nature allows the system to serve multiple display purposes while maintaining a consistent structural framework.
2Reliability
If adhesives are used to attach panels to frames, then panel attachment reliability improves, but ease of operation and update speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive bonding mechanism is extracted and replaced with a mechanical attachment system using clips and channels. This allows panels to be attached and detached without chemical adhesives, enabling quick updates while maintaining secure attachment during display.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment system transitions from a static adhesive bond to a dynamic mechanical connection that allows for quick insertion and removal of panels. The clips can be rapidly engaged and disengaged, facilitating frequent updates without requiring adhesive removal or curing time.
3Shape
If panels are designed without borders for seamless appearance, then aesthetic quality improves, but ease of manufacture and assembly deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The border is nested within the frame structure rather than being part of the printed panel image. The frame's front surface acts as the visible border, allowing the panel images to be printed without border extensions while maintaining aesthetic seamlessness and simplifying panel manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame serves as an intermediary element that provides the border function separately from the panel images. This mediator structure allows the panels to be manufactured independently without border requirements while the frame unifies their appearance when assembled.
4Shape
If gaps between panels are minimized for seamless display, then aesthetic quality improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is pre-assembled with the panels attached before installation on the display wall. This preliminary assembly allows for adjustment and alignment of panels relative to each other, ensuring minimal gaps are achieved through manual positioning rather than requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure merges the functions of panel mounting, alignment reference, and aesthetic border into a single component. This integration simplifies the alignment process by providing a unified reference structure that guides panel positioning, reducing the need for high-precision manufacturing of individual panels.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid creation and updating of display signs with reduced costs and increased flexibility by allowing individual panel changes without adhesives, ensuring seamless panel alignment and minimizing gaps through border wrapping and snap-on frame attachments.
Implementation Method 1
Each frame is stretched to secure a printed panel sheet
Implementation Method 2
The border is wrapped around the sides of the frame and attached to the back of the frame
Data Source
AI summary
An array of adjacent panels forms a display sign. Each panel has a frame that holds a display sheet showing a cellular portion of the sign. The display sheet covers a front of the frame. A border of the display sheet wraps around the sides of the frame and is trapped in a backside channel in each side member of the frame. Retainers pushed into the channel trap the border in the channel. Each frame may be quickly attached and released from a respective base attached to a wall or other support structure, allowing quick changes to all portions or selected portions of the sign. A mobile app may be provided that configures the sign in a camera image of the support structure, divides the sign into panels, and generates printer output in a selected printer page size for each panel, including the border.